Chongqing- As one of the first major World Athletics road racing events since the COVID-19 pandemic, the 6th Chongqing International Women’s Half Marathon (Shero 2020) kicked off in Chongqing’s Nan’an District at 8 a.m. on Nov. 8, with 4,800 runners competing for the high prizes in the Half Marathon, the 10km Run, and the Mini Run categories.
Participants running past the starting gate on Nanbin Road near the entrance to Nanbin Park. Photos by Wang Yiling.
The Shero 2020 is the largest scaled, highest leveled marathon competition exclusively for women participants on the Chinese mainland, and has been hailed as “China’s Most Beautiful Marathon” for being held in the mountainous municipality of Chongqing, which is usually associated by many with abundance in beautiful sceneries, beautiful foods, and beautiful people.
It was organized by the CQNEW Group and the Chongqing Catching Sports Co., Ltd., sponsored by the Chongqing Daily News Group, and under the instructions and guidance of the Municipal Sports Bureau. It
Women participants wave greetings to spectators and photographers while running.
Moving into the 6th edition of the Chongqing International Women’s Half Marathon, “this year’s event has a bit smaller scale than previously due to the impact of COVID-19, with only 4,800 local runners in total, down from the 12,600 domestic and international participants in 2019,” said Mr. Liu, deputy director-general with the Shero Women’s Half Marathon Organizing Committee.
A total of 3,000 registered runners competed in the 21km-long Half Marathon category, 900 participants in the 10km Run race, and another 900 in the 5km-long Mini Run race. Runners from these three categories wear different-colored bib number clothes and all start their races from the same starting point at the same time, only with different finishing points due to their varying lengths.
Mr. Liu, deputy general-director with the organizing committee, introduces the characteristics and features of this year's event to the online viewers of iChongqing's livestream.
Other than running on-site with thousands of other participants on the Nanbin Road from under the Chaotianmen Bridge, the Yangtze River Bridge, to under the Caiyuanba Bridge, those who couldn’t come physically can also compete in the online “virtual race” version, which has no registration ceilings and can be completed at a time and place according to participants’ own choosing.
By 9: 30 a.m., the top winners of these three categories have all finished their races.
Champion of the 21km-long Half Marathon race Zhang Yan poses for a victory photo after an interview with iChongqing.
Zhang Yan, a freshman college student from Xi’an Jiaotong University, claimed the championship of the Half Marathon race with a net time of 1 hour 22 minutes and 57 seconds. “This is the first time for me to compete in the [Shero Women’s Half Marathon] race, and I feel especially upbeat running alongside those beautiful women participants,” said Zhang. “Even though I took the championship, there’s still a little regret in me that I didn’t run into the 122 minutes’ time target.” Hopefully, she’d be able to come again next year and break her personal best records, she added.
The gold, silver, and bronze medal winners of the 10km Run race pose for a group photo during the award presenting ceremony.
Zeng Ying, a die-heart fans of the Shero Women’s Half Marathon who has been following and participating in all the last six editions, won first place in the 10km Run race with a net time of 40 minutes and 52 seconds, leaving the second and third place runners 22 and 49 seconds behind respectively.
Cosers and volunteer cheerleaders waving flags to show participants their processes.
The Shero Women’s Half Marathon has been very popular since its inception in 2015, and has since been authorized to join the Marathon Committee and later upgrade to a “Bronze Medal,” “Silver Medal,” and later “Golden Medal” road racing event by the Chinese Athletics Association (CAA) from 2016 to 2019. It has also recently been awarded the “Bronze Label” by World Athletics, making it the only women’s road race in China and the third in the world to be certified by the world governing body of track and field athletics.